A lot of things have changed since Ken Helfman opened the doors to his men’s specialty store, Ken’s Man’s Shop, in Garland, Texas, in 1964. Over the past 60 years, the retailer has relocated, updated its mix countless times, started a website and a blog, and welcomed the second generation to the business.
But the one thing that has remained the same over all these years is the company’s unwavering commitment to quality, service and community.
“Yes, we have changed,” said Kory Helfman, Ken’s son and the current owner and operator of the business. “But I think the better word is we have evolved every year, every season. We continue to take strides towards always trying to be better for our clientele. And we do that through fashion. We’ll do that through small changes within the shop, but we don’t do that in our DNA — and that’s the key to surviving. We are still the same haberdashery with the same mantra that we opened up with. We want to give great quality. We want to give service and we want to be great to our community in which we live. That’s our mantra, and that has not changed.”
Ken Helfman was only 26 when he opened his shop, selling Cricketeer clothing, Corbin pants, Gant shirts and English Leather cologne in Garland. He quickly attracted a following as a young men’s shop, and soon became the retailer of choice for the Dallas Cowboys. In fact, according to Ken’s online history, Roger Staubach bought his first suit at Ken’s.
Ken’s Man’s Shop in 1968.
Courtesy of Ken’s Man’s Shop
Over the years, the store became more European, selling Pierre Cardin, Yves Saint Laurent, Hardy Amies, Tiger of Sweden and other brands popular at the time.
In the early ’90s when Garland was undergoing some changes, Helfman asked for a meeting with the legendary Stanley Marcus who advised him to relocate to Dallas. That happened in February of 1993 when Ken’s Man’s Shop opened in the Preston Royal Shopping Center where it remains to this day.
Being in the upscale luxury center prompted the retailer to update its assortment again, adding Pal Zileri, Lubiam, Aquascutum, Versace, Jhane Barnes, Bill Kaiserman and others to the mix.
An ad marketing double-breasted suits from 1968.
Courtesy of Ken’s Man’s Shop
Soon after the move, Kory joined the family business, working alongside his father and putting his own stamp on the company by enhancing its social media message, hosting a slew of popular trunk shows, establishing a robust wedding business and enhancing the custom offering.
As Ken’s prepared to celebrate its 60th anniversary last year, its founder passed away. But although he’s no longer in the store in person, his spirit and legacy live on in his son and the store’s long-time employees.
Kory Helfman said that although Ken’s officially hit its anniversary on Aug. 1, he decided to celebrate in the fall when the weather in Dallas is better. He selected Dec. 13 — 13 was Ken Helfman’s favorite number — and invited customers who had shopped at Ken’s for 30 years or more.
“Anyone who has been in a relationship with our haberdashery, and especially knew my father, was invited,” he said. “We curated the list to around 300 and 100 showed up. I’m actually glad it wasn’t more, because it really was the perfect number for us to entertain, talk, tell stories about my dad, and tell the story of what we’re doing and why we’re together.”
Ken Helfman
Courtesy of Ken’s Man’s Shop
Everyone who attended was sent home with a gift bag that included socks with Ken Helfman’s face on them and a “Kenism,” such as “Every day is a gift,” one of his favorite sayings. At the end of the night, the company made a donation to the Bill Hunt Scholarship, which was established 31 years ago to honor the store’s first employee, who died at the age of 27.
For Kory Helfman, there’s no secret to Ken’s Man’s Shop’s longevity. “We’re stubborn. My father was smart and loved to work hard, and I follow along those lines.”
But hard work isn’t enough for many businesses to survive. It also takes the ability to successfully change with the times.
Kory Helfman, right, with Connor Sambrookes of Brookes & Hyde.
Starting in 2016, Ken’s has rebranded its logo, updated the exterior and interior of the store and refreshed its assortment.
Kory Helfman still refers to the store as a haberdashery, a term most often associated with traditional suits and furnishings. “Clothing is still a major aspect of our business, at least 40 percent or more,” he said. “We’re talking suits, sport coats, dress slacks, neckwear and accessories, but sportswear has definitely made an impact.”
Custom offerings have also been enhanced, now accounting for around 22 percent of the business. At one point, he said, custom had grown to 28 percent, but “I decided to dial it back,” he said. “I still want to be a tailored clothing store. I had a guy come in yesterday at 10 a.m. and we had his suit ready at 5:30 because he needed an emergency suit. So we need to be in that business.”
Top brands today include Samuelsohn, Jack Victor and Byron in suits, Eton, Emanuel Berg and Brax in shirts as well as Lenor Romano, Robert Barakett and Johnnie-O in knitwear and sportswear.
Ken’s customer continues to be primarily the Dallas businessman, but that doesn’t mean they live in the area anymore. “As our clients have moved away, we have followed them, and they have stuck with us,” Kory said. “The nice thing about Zoom or FaceTime is that we can still connect with our clients and help them out through their life changes or their needs. But the majority of our clientele is still the CEO, the C-suite, the managerial suite, the entrepreneur. What I love about Dallas is the diversity. A lot of my European friends think Dallas is just oil and gas. But we’re massive in law, medical, tech, advertising — our clients are from all walks of life, and I love that.”
Being active on social media — Kory Helfman is a staple on LinkedIn and other platforms with his Haberdashery News blog — has helped the retailer attract new customers. He’s a master at Google Analytics and SEO and strives to stay current on all the top trends.
But referrals remain paramount for customer recruitment. “One of the top things our clients say, is: I got this suit at, or I had a great experience at, or I really need to meet you to a buddy of mine, or let me take you into one of my favorite places. For a lot of people, they’ll stop in weekly and just have a drink or a cup of coffee with us and look around. Maybe they won’t buy but at least we’re connecting with them, and they’re bringing their friends with them.”
The other thing Kory Helfman has brought to the business is the establishment of a strong wedding business. Although Ken’s had long dressed men for their nuptials, it was Kory who partnered with a rental company in 2016 to grow the business. It worked, and today Ken’s has a full-time salesperson in the store who just works on weddings and rentals.
That has also had other benefits for the store. After the wedding is over, these young men will need clothes for their jobs or other occasions and if their experience was positive at Ken’s, they’ll return.
He also established a strong custom business, offering everything from sport shirts and belts to polos, T-shirts and tuxedos. He also created a custom cologne counter where guys can develop their own “signature scents. That’s one of our top experiences,” he said.
“What we like to say is: When you walk in the shop, if we can’t fit you, we can order it. If we can’t order it, we can make it for you.”
Kory also helped launch the first website in the 1990s and has revamped it every five years since then. He also transitioned from the old-fashioned use of paper to keep track of the business to a more-sophisticated point-of-sale system. “That was probably the biggest thing my father didn’t want to do,” he recalled. “He loved paper and memorizing skus and the cost of everything, but as you grow, it just gets too much.”
He also tries to ensure the store is on trend with its fashion offering. He shops the New York and Chicago markets as well as his hometown Dallas trade show. And while he would like to go back to Italy someday, right now his primary shopping is done in the U.S.
“We talk to our reps, designers and brand owners about what they’re seeing out there. And we’re listening to them. The thing we love about our business is there’s a synergy. They listen to us about what our clients are asking for, and we listen to them about their vision and their direction. That’s a nice mix.”
One thing he won’t do, however, is add womenswear. “We know men’s clothing — that’s our brand, that’s our DNA. If I want to get into women’s business, then I’m going to start a completely different store, but I’m not going to mix it with my men’s store.”
And it would have to have another name than Ken’s Man’s Shop. “My dad used to joke that we could call it Kendall.”
So what will the next 60 years hold for Ken’s? Kory joked: “At that point, I’m going to be 117. But men’s retail is changing at such an accelerated rate. I’m not even talking about AI and machine learning. I’m just talking about the world moving at such a fast pace. I still see us being relevant. I still see a percentage of humans that need connection. And I still see that people need purpose, and getting dressed every day gives you a purpose. It’s nice to be able to dress and feel good about oneself and have confidence, and then have connection with other people. And that’s what our store does. We connect.”
